Friday, April 7, 2017

Your Boss May Soon Be Able To Access Your DNA

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/should-companies-be-allowed-to-demand-your-genetic-test-results/
http://fortune.com/2017/03/10/genetic-testing-workplace-wellness-bill/

A new bill that is being proposed could require employees to get genetic testing in order to receive insurance from their employer. While many are concerned that this could cause their rates to go up, it is being presented as an incentive that could save employees money on their healthcare. Agreeing to get the testing could apparently save an employee up to 30% on their insurance, as their genetic test provides information about their family history and any potential illness that they are at risk for. I think that providing a company with your DNA would not be beneficial and would end up in raising rates for people based on their genes, which is discrimination. I think it could be helpful for a patient's doctors to have a sample of their genetic test, but there is no logical reason that a company needs to have this information and it would lead to more harm than good. If this bill is going to require genetic testing for healthcare under the guise of improving "employee wellness", it should require the employee to give that information to their doctor's, not their company, because their doctors can use preventative measures to treat them, while their boss might use their genes as an excuse to fire them.

4 comments:

  1. I get why the companies might want to, but I agree with you; they could use their genetics as an excuse to fire them, which is pretty unjust. I don't think an employer should have access to your genetic make-up. It makes me skeptical of their intentions.

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  2. I agree that although interesting could cause a reason for their boss to fire them. I do not believe that your genetic makeup should be something that I provided to your boss or company because it has nothing to do with what makes and individual qualified for a position.

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  3. I understand the idea behind this, but what exactly about your genes would save money on your insurance. Also, are they looking for specific genes or are they trying to sequence your entire genome. Either way, I feel as though this is very unnecessary.

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